Port partnership enters new era

Liverpool and Glasgow have long had a strong relationship, built on their mutual maritime heritage and two iconic rivers, not to mention a shared love of football.

This week, we at Peel Ports are celebrating the links between the two cities with a special event in Glasgow’s Science Centre, where over 100 guests from the shipping industry and local businesses are going to join us for a one-off conference.

We’ve put together an exclusive panel of speakers, covering various stages in the import and export journey, to talk about how – by working together – we can improve the prospects for trade in Scottish goods.

Key to this is the investment we’ve made in Liverpool, with our new £400m container terminal opening up new routes to global markets from Peel Ports’ facilities in Greenock. This is supported by what our BG Freight short-sea shipping line has done in changing its schedule to facilitate connections with deep-sea services.

Our guests are going to hear about a case study, where the work we’ve done to support our customers has helped to solve a real-world business problem.

This is hugely important for our whole sector, because genuine collaboration is going to be critical for our future success. Ports and shipping lines have often been accused – and fairly too – of operating as independent links in the supply chain. But what our customers need is something that’s much more joined up.

We are leading the way with an integrated approach, built on understanding, sharing information and even taking risks together. Without that, we cannot hope to provide the best solutions for our customers, helping them to meet their business objectives.

Not so long ago, Liverpool and Glasgow were widely recognised as leaders in the maritime world. We have a vision that they will be perceived that way again and it all starts with us working better together.